In a display cabinet on the upper level of the MCG sits a vibrant pink ensemble donned by the entertainer. The performance in front of a hundred thousand spectators was seen as a major hit.
You might not enjoy Robbie Williams. You might think he is the ultimate present to music known to man. Or you could adopt a middle ground, conceding that some songs are excellent while others are awful.
The point being is that enjoyment can be delivered diversely. Preferences differ. There is no universal formula to craft literature or even the longest format.
The Incomparable Variety of Test Cricket
The five-day game boasts peerless complexity. One struggles to think of another sport where the contest is so dictated by the environment.
The elements, the time of day, the cricket ball – the variables are numerous. Above all is the playing surface.
If the format is an artistic pursuit, the wicket is the blank slate on which the players create their art.
A Test of Cubism: The MCG Match
The Boxing Day fixture between the old rivals was the game deconstructed, the established format dismantled and reassembled in abstract form.
This is not a justification of the surface which yielded a win and the second two-day Test of the series.
Allowing a thick layer on the surface, resulting in a cascade of wickets falling in less than a brief period, is not an even battle between offense and defense.
A Varied History: The Core of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a inferior show, one that should be footnoted as inauthentic, is wide of the mark.
The format is a diverse canvas, 2,615 parts and still growing. On occasion, like in Melbourne, the ball moves excessively for the pace bowlers. In contrast, it spins sharply on a spinning track. Sometimes, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it spits like a cobra.
The close matches are particularly captivating due to the patience devoted in other matches.
Adjustment: The True Test
Some factors are accepted more readily than others.
The debate in during the match was that the contest was tipped too far towards the attack. That the best players were hindered from playing their natural game.
Test cricket is about problem solving – reading the conditions and adjusting accordingly. The top two individual innings were made by recognized players. One team made more mistakes than the other, and thus lost.
Pure Elation: For Those Who Waited
Go and inform the supporters who have experienced 18 winless matches that this was not entertaining.
In one section of the MCG, a sea of people celebrated and chanted, fostering a festive mood in a bastion of sport.
There was hope as the attack excelled, advantage when the top order responded, and unconditional love when the victory was achieved.
Contrasting Examples: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The venue has a history with difficult wickets. Eight years ago, a Test there featured a pitch with the excitement of a a non-event.
That match was a marathon, with limited drama and slow play. This recent match and that drawn affair are polar opposites of the scale – one is not more perfect, yet value can be attached to them.
Deep into the series into the current series, it is the shortest games that will be most remembered in the history books.
"This isn't the demise of the format at all," commented a past champion. "The people who have been privileged to see these two days have been experienced some genuine drama. A unique show."
Signs of Progress: Building for the Future
In the preparation to this Test, the captain spoke like a man carrying the weight of the world on his back.
The players delivered for him, bringing back the smile to his persona.
Emerging talents performed with vital performances. These are incremental gains, hardly enough to guarantee long-term futures, but a starting point to use as a platform.
At the very least, this MCG win takes its place among other memorable performances in dead rubbers.
As the fans slipped away into a beautiful night, the players assembled on the turf to start their own enjoyment.
Savour the moment, men. It's well deserved.
